The invention relates to an authentication technology on the occasion of providing a message via a communication line.
Over the recent years, a wireless terminal device as typified by a cellular phone has been diversified in its function and has become capable of managing multiple items of information about a terminal user. Herein, one item of information to be managed is location information of the terminal, and at the present a service for disclosing the location information to others is being actualized. The location information of the terminal is personal information of the individual user carrying the terminal, and hence access control is required to be done so as to authenticate a person who requests the disclosure of the location information and to disclose the location information to only specified persons authenticated. A general authentication method, which is now being utilized, is a method employing an ID and a password. Therefore, it is required that both of an information provider and an information requester manage the IDs and the passwords
In the case of the authentication using the ID and the password, supposing that the information provider side is a mobile terminal, a problem is that an input of the information such as the ID and the password for authenticating the information requester is extremely time-consuming. Hence, there is demanded an authentication technology capable of inputting the information by a simple operation and actualizing firm security.
On the other hand, a personal information disclosure system is proposed, wherein an information registrant registers a server with the information to be disclosed and a mail address and a name of a person who approves the disclosure, and, when the terminal of the information requester requests the server to disclose the information, it is judged whether the disclosure request is valid or not, depending on whether or not the name and the mail address of the requester are previously registered (Patent document 1).    [Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-41522